488 



The Weekly Florists^ Review* 



.Iamauv Ji, r.toc. 



etc., but you cannot tell wliotlier tliat 

 l)Uia'b oi' lloucrs was cut from 100 plants 

 or 5,0(1(1 and you don't know how many 

 blooms wore discarded when these were 

 selected. 



]\v watcliing the exhibition reports you 

 will be alilc to see whether a variety 

 comes in late or early, but you cannot 

 tell wlictlii I or not it is a free bloomer; 

 whether it will pay the grower a fair 

 rental for the bench space it takes up. 

 As is well known to those who have at- 

 tended (xhibitions and boufjht the prize 

 winners, it is not always the varieties 

 that make the finest sliow that pro\c 

 to be the most profitable. In fact, tlie 

 show reports arc very misleadini^f in 

 that way. Many a first-i-lass liread-and- 

 hutter variety is entirely outclassed by 

 till' more showy ones and of course it 

 sulVers at th(> hands of tiie reporter, 

 when really out of the wlmle Imnch it 

 miL;lit lie (lie must |ii'ulilalile to yrow. 

 These varieties are usually taken up and 

 pushed the s(M'ond ami third year, after 

 tliey ha\e fdiced i-ei-n^nit idii by siieer 

 piMsisteiice. wliilr tlidse tiiie IniikiuL; 

 )tri/.e wiTMiers iii'e ii'luctant ly dlsrarded 

 after a year nr two. 



l-'ortuiiately the \aiii'tie'^ with llie 

 enornnuis sales dn net always |ini\e lui- 

 ])r(ditable; trei|Uenlly due jn'oxi'S \\(irtliy 

 of the Cdliiidence I lie orowers ha\'e plaeeil 

 in it, like, t'ur instance, ICndiant less. 

 Surely no yrow^T wlm lieu^dd J-]ncliaii- 

 tress e\('r le^retted it. 



How many te buy oi' each variety is 

 a question each (uie must answer for 

 himself. It A\ill depend on many condi- 

 tions, if Villi are a retail grower ymi 

 may nut i^mw moic tlian a house or twn 

 of c.arnatiiuis and you m.ay want only 

 enough to see wh.at they are like ami 

 how they behave with you. If you run 

 across a desirable eiie ynu can buy a few 

 hundred the secnml year. If you are a 

 wholesale grower ymi shmild have eninigh 

 to make a uodd hd fur the next season 

 of any one that jiroves worthy. Those 

 who make a specialty (d" rooted euttin£;s 



of course want a big lot of any good 

 thing and it jniys them to investigate 

 thoroughly before buying and then 

 plunge into whatever looks best. Even 

 these men are tripped up occasionally, 

 after looking a variety over carefully 

 on its home place. We do not buy less 

 than 100 of any variety, because it .seems 

 one can size up a variety better when 

 there are that many or more. Often 

 some are lost one way or another. 



Does it pay to buy the new varieties? 

 From our own experience 1 would say, 

 most emphatically, yes. Perhaps we 

 have been more careful in buying tlian 

 the average, but anyway we have tried 

 to follow the suggestion made above. 

 Every season we buy many varieties,' some 

 we know but little id', before wo see 

 them here and we alw.ays get enough good 

 ones every season to imire than pay up 

 foi" what the jindr inies lost us. Then, 

 too. we know how all of them beh;ived 

 foi" us in our soil and i limate and \\v 

 are not in danger in the future of in- 

 vesting in a variety that failed Avith us. 

 This knowledge alone we c(>nsider pays 

 for what we iiivc^sted. We find that in 

 these days of hiyli yraiie blooms the 

 groAver has to keep his stock up to the 

 top notidi, and he can do this oidy by 

 snbst i! iiting the impioxed \arieties for 

 the dldiM' ones, as well a-- addjiting every 

 impro\ed method of ciiilui'e. Siijjpose 

 we were still growing bi/./.ie Mc(unvan, 

 Silver Spray, (Irace Wilder, I'ortia, etc.. 

 who would buy our stork.' 



There are tliose wlm think that afti^r 

 a variety has lieen out a year or two and 

 lias done well e\eiv\\liei(^ it is time 

 enough for them to buy. This is a mis- 

 taken idea and really loses uniney. If 

 your neighbor starts with 100 jilants and 

 the variety does well with him he can 

 make 1,000 for the next season. You 

 visit his place and see the \ariety 

 and if you want to lia\e .-is many 

 as he has they will lost you $.")(i 

 or .$()0 ami you don 't know how it 

 is going to do for you. Tie knows its 



habits and you don 't, so he stum 

 much better chance of growing it 

 the next season. If he bought live v 

 ties and only got one good one he is 

 ahead of you in money and in a 

 years' time he will have the reputatio 

 being progressive and up-to-date and 

 will be one of the trailers. You 

 hnd that those who have bought the 

 varieties consistently in the past 

 the ones who are now the most liberal 

 ers, and those who are disgruntled 

 the ones who plunged spasmodically 

 missed it almost regularly. 



A. F. J. Bai 



•s a. 



well 

 arit' 



still 



few 

 n 01 



VOi; 

 will 



new 



ail 



buy 



art 



auM 



NO BLOOMS. 



Our carnations are l^oston Maik.-t 

 Lawson and Flamingo. They wen 

 |)lanted in the house the nuddle oi An 

 gust. They look healthy and stron<:. 

 The temjierature of the liouse at night 

 is from oO to 55 degrees; during the 

 day to GO degrees. When the sun i^ 

 shining it is sometimes 05 degiees. Tin. 

 ventilators are open part of each day 

 but the plants do not bloom as freel\ 

 as they should. We hope you can hel[ 

 IIS overcome the diilicultv. .1. T. 



I shall be very thankful if you rai 

 tell be what I can do for my carnations 

 as they lio not bloom. The plants a)< 

 growing and look healthy and good, but 

 they do not throw any buds. I have sc\ 

 eral kinds, one no better than the other 

 1 have lieen using bone meal and air 

 slaked lime, and the temperature ha? 

 been run up to 52 degrees. They wei'. 

 planted in August. J. W. 



Boston ]\Iarket and I^awson are. as ;,■ 

 rule, very free bloomers and at this tim- 

 iif the year ought to be in full crop 

 i'lamingo is a late bloomer and manv 

 growers last season did not get a bloon? 

 until toward spring. It is hard to sa> 

 just what may have caused your plant- 

 to behave as you say, since they ar*- 



Carnation Range at the New Plant of G. Van Bochove & Bro., Kalamazoo, Mich. 



